


The Long Con

by Weaponmojo



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BDSM, Bad BDSM Etiquette, Collars, Dom Blake Belladonna, F/F, Masturbation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27321856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weaponmojo/pseuds/Weaponmojo
Summary: When an overworked real estate agent finds herself unraveling, she takes to therapy with a stoic and sharp-tongued woman with great reviews. When her mother's health takes a sudden, but expected turn, she finds herself in a precarious position. With a few unchecked words, she finds herself caught in a lie. Bartering when your debt can only grow can, and will, quickly leave her tumbling down a path she never would have expected. If only she'd figured out what that amber-eyed woman meant by calling her a brat just a little sooner.This is going to have BDSM themes, with a pretty poor start to their relationship. More tags and characters to be added later!
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Coco Adel/Velvet Scarlatina
Comments: 13
Kudos: 51





	1. Session Zero

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY, this one's a thing. The relationship starts soon, I promise, please hold on through the mild manipulation, the consent is (kind of) coming soon. Now, to the people that have read my other stories, I do want to apologize. I have a lot of drafts at the moment but this was the first one I could really, really get my energy behind. I promise I have other things coming, soon, but for now, I'll probably be focusing on this one.

Thin pale fingers drum aggressively against the hardwood armrest of the chair Weiss had settled in as she waited. She'd lost track of time as she feverishly worked on a document for her recent benefactors.

"Ms. Schnee."

She'd just managed to get into her stride, catching mistakes before they even made it to their field. 

"Ms. Schnee."

She'd almost completely tuned out the well-furnished waiting room around her, barely even realizing anything had changed in her vicinity. 

"Ms. Schnee, I understand your work is important, but I do charge by the hour, so unless you'd like to pay me to let you work, I would suggest you put that away for the moment."

She blinked, raising her gaze from the laptop to meet the amber gaze of the curious woman before her. Dr. Blake Belladonna, the therapist she was here to see. "I'm sorry, were you trying to talk to me?"

"I was. Your session was supposed to start five minutes ago, but you seemed so enthralled by your work I couldn't pull you away. Whatever was on there was clearly much more important than then my hourly fee." The black-haired woman cocked an eyebrow, smirking softly down at the distracted businesswoman. 

"O-of course, sorry," she chuckled sheepishly, quickly scurrying to tuck her belongings back into her bag before almost jumping to her feet. "Please, lead the way; I don't want to waste any more of your time."

Blake led her from the waiting room to a similarly decorated office. The scent of lavender hung in the air as they entered. "Alright," Blake said simply, "settle yourself on the couch. Before we get started, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself? What you do for a living, any pets, those kinds of things."

"Oh, well, I'm the owner and operator of Snow White Realty."

"So, you own your own business?"

"I do; I specialize in buying and flipping houses, as well as renting out some of my properties."

"And how much of your time is spent working with your business, if you had to guess?"

"I suppose if I were to put a number to it, I work upwards of 14 hours a day."

"I assume that includes when you'd usually be eating?"

"I work through meals, yes."

"I see," she mused, taking a few notes. "How long have you been keeping that pace? A few months?"

"Er- no, I've been working 14 or more hours a day for… almost two years now."

"No wonder you're in my office."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry; I'll explain my findings later. Now, what about your family life?"

"My family life? Uh, well, there are five of us—my parents, my older sister Winter, and my younger brother Whitley."

"Why don't you tell me about your relationships with your siblings?"

"Well, my sister and I are on fairly good terms. She helps with my business when she isn't on deployment."

"She's in the military?"

"The navy, specifically, but only the reserves at the moment. She'll go into active deployment if they need her to. She spends at least a week each month in some other country."

"Is she out of the country at the moment?"

"She is; it's part of why I have to work so hard. I don't have a lot of help."

Blake nodded, tapping her pen to her chin for a moment before jotting a few more notes down. Their first session continued similarly, the rest of the hour going by at what felt like a snail's pace for Weiss. Her mind, when given even a moment's respite from Blake's questioning, quickly falling back to her work, each time getting a curt remark from the therapist to get her back on track.

As the session came to an end, the last of her notes being taken and her clipboard being set aside, Blake stood and offered a hand to her patient. "I feel like we have a lot of things we can work on; I'll see you at the same time next week."

Weiss nodded, taking the hand and giving it a good shake before collecting her bag and turning to leave. "Thank you for your time. Take care."

"And you as well, Ms. Schnee."

She made her way back down the hall and out of the building, her mind still reeling some from everything she'd been asked. She hadn't been expecting such personal questions, and though she'd danced around the topic of her parents, she'd found herself uncomfortable for most of the session. 

"I need coffee," she mumbled as she passed the threshold. She turned on her heels, making her way down the street. She'd seen a coffee shop on the corner; she'd just stop for a moment, get a cup of coffee, and get a little work done.

She bought the coffee, set out her laptop once again, and settled into work. She had a few spreadsheets to fill to check and ensure her pricing was still reliable, an email to write and rewrite to inform a few contractors she frequented that their services were needed again, as well as a slue of other details she needed to finish in regards to a new rental unit she'd picked up.

"Isn't the point of buying coffee to drink it?" 

Weiss jolted softly, looking up to meet Blake's amber gaze before finally looking down at the clock on her laptop. She'd been working for almost two hours, her coffee assuredly ruined by now.

With rosy cheeks, she indignantly shot back, "well, maybe I like my coffee cold."

Blake set her cup on the table, sitting across from her, "oh? Then why didn't you buy one of their frappucinos? They have several."

"And what if I just don't like frappucinos?"

Smirking softly, Blake took a sip of her drink, "why is it you always act like such a brat when you're teased?"

"I do not act like a brat," she huffed, snatching up her cold coffee and forcing a swallow down. "Why would you call me that anyway?"

"No reason. What have you been working on all this time?"

"Oh, um, I've just been sending correspondences with a few contractors. I have a new rental unit that I need to be renovated before I can move anyone into it."

"And how many contractors do you work with?"

"Well, I have Mr. Arc and his wife; they're my go-to for framework and support. Neptune is my plumber; he does a good job and is always willing to come out to an emergency. From there, I have a few that do flooring and roofing, and- oh, I've been rambling, I'm sorry." She quickly turned her attention back to Blake, a sheepish smile on her face. Her nervous look was met with one of pure amusement.

"What's with that look?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry yourself."

"Fine, you've asked me plenty of questions; it's only fair I do the same. Why did you decide to become a therapist?"

"I like manipulating people from the shadows," she said simply as she took another sip of her drink.

There was silence for a moment before the taller woman chuckled, easing the sudden tension that had claimed Weiss's shoulders. She let out a bit of a sheepish laugh, "that's certainly an interesting reason for your career choice."

"Well, it certainly makes it more entertaining," she nodded. 

Weiss glanced back at her computer, "the battery's running low anyway," she thought before reaching up and closing the screen. "So how long have you worked in town?"

"A few years, actually. I graduated and worked for six months in my home town before moving here. You were actually rather lucky that my last patient in your time slot moved."

"I was rather lucky, though how much I'm paying should give me some sort of advantage; it simply can't be your standard rate."

"No, I charged you that much because you sounded like you were a spoiled brat." 

"I'm not a-," she groaned, "could you stop calling me that?"

"Oh, sure, I'll stop calling you that, right away, if you admit you are one."

"Why would I admit something that's outright false," she huffed. 

"Maybe because I only took you on as a patient at a loss because of your bratty attitude. Or maybe because I asked nicely."

"The way you 'asked' was far from nice," she countered, "and there is absolutely no way the price I pay is below your standard fair."

"What can I say? Therapy is expensive."

She huffed, "are you even capable of giving people a straight answer?"

"For free? What kind of business model is that?"

"You sound like my father. Not everything has to be business-related."

"Really now? Then why is it you've consistently spent almost twice as much time working as the average person? It seems like you don't know how to take your own advice."

Weiss huffed, snatching up her cold coffee and mistakenly taking a big swig only to gag and almost spit it out.

"You most certainly love your cold coffee," Blake teased before scooting her chair back out and picking up her own drink. "This has been an entertaining conversation; how about we do the same next week? Maybe then I'll have you drink that coffee while it's hot."

"I-uh," she stammered back, "I wouldn't mind that."

"I knew you would; I'll see you in a week, Ms. Schnee."

She sighed, making sure she had everything in her bag before moving to stand. She needed to check on a few things at an older rental on the far end of town before she could go home. 

She'd just made it back to her car when her sister, Winter, called.

"Winter, I wasn't expecting a call from you during your trip to the Caribean. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just got a message from Whitley," she sounded tired, possibly a bit irritated.

"Why did he message you directly? He's only thirty minutes from me at any given time."

"Last I checked, you two aren't on the best of terms."

"Well, I apologize that I'm busy, typically, but I almost always make time for family. Either way, sister, what was it he needed?"

"He hasn't heard from mother is a while, and he's getting concerned," she sighed.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she got into her car, "and why is that my problem? Can't he just go check on her himself?"

"He's in the middle of a week-long seminar. He hasn't had time to go much of anywhere, or so he claims."

She pulled out of the parking garage across from Blake's building, heading towards the apartment building their mother stayed at. "Of course, he hasn't. I'll head that way."

They spoke loosely for a few minutes as she traveled, mostly Winter complaining about her commanding officer.

As she parked her car and made her way up the stairs, Winter finally asked, "are you almost there?"

"Yes, Winter, I'm checking on her now," Weiss sighed through her phone as she fumbled with the key to their mother's apartment. "You know she's just drunk again; we honestly don't need all of this fanfare."

Her sister's voice came through the receiver, stern and annoyed as always, "Sister, she's still our mother. What if she hurt herself again?"

"Then she's drinking the pain away, again," Weiss countered.

"Even then, I just want to make sure she's alright. We both know how Whitley would react if he lost his mother, too."

She sighed, "I know… he still visits father on the weekends…"

"Exactly, now please, just do as I asked. The sooner you do it, the sooner you can get back to work."

"While I'm tending to her, please take a few moments to read through the email I CC'd you in; I want to make sure everything comes across clearly."

"I'll get right on it, sister, thank you."

"Of course, of course, I've got the door open; I'll call you back as soon as I have her tended to."

"I'll speak with you later, sister," she said before the call cut off.

Weiss calmly opened the door, covering her nose against the overwhelming stench of month old alcohol. "Mother?" She called into the dark apartment interior. She could hear a T.V. running deeper in, but no one called back out to her.

She sighed, making her way deeper in and closing the door behind her. "Mother, if you're awake, I was sent to check on you."

There was still no response. Weiss sighed as she pushed further in, flicking on lights as she did. 

Splayed out on the couch, an almost empty bottle of wine settled at the foot of the couch with a bright red stain stretching out around it, was Willow Schnee, the matriarch of the Schnee family and a known alcoholic.

Weiss sighed, flicking the light on for the living room before moving to the couch and picking the remote from the floor. She clicked off the T.V. before turning to look at her mother. She set the remote down, resting her hands on her hips. "What are we going to do with you?"

She took a few moments to clean discarded bottles and trash before returning to her mother's side. She huffed, setting her bag on the coffee table, now cleared of the countless empty bottles, before moving to shake her mother's shoulder. 

It took a few moments of work, but the older woman finally stirred, groaning softly as she sat up. "Oh… Weiss, I didn't realize you'd come to visit."

"I'm not here to visit, mother. Winter said Whitley called her worried that you hadn't spoken to him in a few days. After arriving, I've figured out why. How long was this bender? A week? You certainly have enough wasted alcohol staining your carpet, again, to justify at least that much."

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted, slowly pushing herself to her feet. She seemed shaky, but Weiss fought her instinct to support the woman. She was beyond irritated with her repeat offenses of this nature and, without a doubt, couldn't stand the blatant disregard for her surroundings. 

"Of course, you don't. Text Whitley, let him know you're alright, and for the love of the Gods, clean this place up. I've been letting you live here rent-free since Father was arrested; the least you could do is minimize damage to the property's value."

Willow waved her hand, dismissively, "I know, I know. I'll make sure Whitley hears from me."

She sighed, "really, mother?"

"What? I just told you I'd get in touch with him."

"I meant your attitude; you act more like the child and I the parent. I shouldn't have to come and check on you so often, especially now that father is out of our lives."

"You don't have to," she countered.

"You know what I mean, mother."

"And you know I'll be fine, worry about yourself. Now, I need coffee, greasy food, and a shower, so unless you intend on watching me bathe, I can take things from here."

Weiss sighed, "alright, mother. Please, try to keep yourself sober enough to not worry us as badly."

She got another dismissive comment from her mother before accepting defeat and leaving. She made sure to send Whitley a message ensuring their mother was okay before turning her attention back to her work.

  
  
  


Weiss set her bag down beside the same table the pair had consistently begun to meet at, week after week. She settled across from the taller woman with a sigh, "I'm sorry I'm late. I had to, once again, make sure my mother hadn't drunk herself to death."

"Again? Wasn't that your excuse for being late last week?"

"Less an excuse, more an explanation."

"An explanation to excuse yourself from punishments is still an excuse."

"If you twist the logic like that, anything is an excuse."

"Exactly, it's the easiest way to tally up punishments."

"What a cruel parent you'll make," Weiss sighed, rolling her eyes and sipping at her coffee.

Blake chuckled softly, "if that's what you want to think. So, what was the problem with your mother this time?"

"The end of yet another bender, of course." 

"Ah, of course. Between the two of you, she may be the one that needs my services more."

"She does, but she barely accepts the help we give her. If she didn't need a rough over her head, I doubt she'd even accept the apartment I let her live in."

"Stubborn? Apple didn't fall far from the tree in that regard."

"I certainly take after my mother," she nodded, "whether that's from how I was raised or how my father treated me, I don't think I'll ever really know."

"Don't make me go back into therapist mode."

"I know, I know, not the place."

"No, it isn't. We're here to enjoy coffee and to relax; I'm not trying to work."

"While I know if I tried to, you'd tease me relentlessly until I stopped."

"I've said it plenty of times, you need to take more time for yourself. Was I wrong when I noticed you've loosened your belt another notch?"

"Wh-what? How could you have possibly-"

"I didn't, I guessed." She took a sip of her drink, "but I've noticed you fiddling with your shirts today, so I'm assuming you realized you'd gained a few pounds. You know, if you take a few hours in the week to exercise, you would improve your self-confidence; maybe my teasing wouldn't give you so much pause."

Weiss huffed, her cheeks reddening once again. "I don't have the time; I've already got too much work piling up just taking the time to meet with you and deal with my mother."

"Exercise is known to help one focus and improve productivity," Blake countered.

Weiss groaned, "fine, I'll start looking into a gym membership-"

"Don't bother," Blake interrupted, digging through her purse for a moment before pulling out a business card. One corner had a bright yellow circle, and across it were the words "Sunny Dragon Personal Trainers" above two phone numbers. "Call the top number, it's an old friend of mine named Sun. He'll know exactly how to help you, and, so long as you drop my name, he'll find a slot for you. He owes me one."

She sighed, taking the business card. "Fine, I'll give him a call after we're done."

"Good, now how has your sister been? She's back in the states, isn't she?"

"She's doing alright. With her help, I've been able to relax a few more minutes."

"That's good to hear. Have you been putting that extra time to good use?"

"That depends on your definition of good use…"

"You've been researching more places to buy, haven't you?"

"Yes, yes, I have…" she sighed.

"I'm going to call Sun at exactly 7 o'clock if he doesn't have you on file by then…"

"You don't have to worry, I gave my word, I'll call him," she huffed, taking a swig of her drink. 

Blake smirked softly, "good. Now, I would love to stay and chat longer, but your tardiness cut into my free time, so I'll have to cut this short. Take care, Ms. Schnee."

Weiss watched her stand and walk away, frowning softly as she glanced back to the business card in hand. "I shouldn't delay, lest something takes my attention away, and I have to bear whatever wrath that woman may have for me." 

She calmly pulled out her phone, dialing the number and patiently waiting for an answer.

"Sunny Dragon personal trainers, Sun speaking, how can I help you?"

"Hello, My name is Weiss Schnee; I was told to try and arrange for your services by one Blake Belladonna?"

"Oh, you know Blake? Sure thing, just let me know when you're free, and we can meet in person. We'll be able to plan things out better in person, so I can get a better feel for what kind of exercise you'll actually need. If it's Blake, I do have to ask, is this request for business or pleasure?"

"Pleasure..?" She mumbled, "No, she's my therapist."

"Business then," he chuckled, "Alright, if you can give me your contact information and what time you'd like to meet, I'll be sure to be free."

"Of course," she nodded, working with him to get an appointment set up quickly before saying farewell and hanging up.

"It won't be that bad, I'm sure it won't. It's just light exercise to help with energy and to lose a little weight… his business or pleasure comment was strange, though," She took another swig of her drink before moving to stand.

* * *

Blake sat calmly in the foyer of the Sunny Dragons gym, cross-legged and patiently scrolling through documents on her phone. The doors opened ahead of her as Weiss stepped through, distracted as always with her hair pulled up and a much sportier outfit hugging her figure.

She didn't notice her raven-haired observer at first, much more concerned with locating the man she was there to meet with. Blake couldn't help but chuckle at her blind dedication to the task at hand, though the sound of her voice caught the shorter woman's attention.

"And just what are you doing here?"

She smirked, countless dismissive comebacks on hand but opting to go with the most concise of the bunch, "I wasn't sure you'd actually show, with how busy you tend to be."

She watched as Weiss frowned, her shoulders stiffening some as she took an indignant stance, "of course I showed; I told you I gave my word."

"You also gave your word you would relax more, and that never happened," she countered. 

"I- well-" she stuttered, essentially handing the taller woman the win. 

"So," she continued, "I made sure you came and actually tried. I have had numerous patients lie about the amount of effort they put into their progress in the past, so I thought it best to take a more hands-on approach with you."

She managed to keep her smirk contained as Weiss huffed again, crossing her arms and indignantly retorting, "if I'm here, then I'm going to try; I don't do anything in half measures."

"Oh, no, I'm sure you don't, I just don't think you've ever had to actually exercise before, so I wanted to make sure."

"I will have you know, I hold the most consecutive wins in Atlas High School fencing history."

"Fencing? You struck me more like a child ballet star than a fencer."

"And I can't be both?"

"That makes more sense," she nodded, "that certainly explains your attitude."

"And what is THAT supposed to mean?"

She couldn't hide her smirk this time, but before Blake could pile on another layer of teasing, a familiar voice to the pair called out.

She turned her attention to Sun, a muscular blonde with a penchant for forgetting his shirt, as he approached. "Glad to see you, Weiss, happy to know you could make it," he chuckled out before turning to Blake, "and I didn't think you'd be here. I could have sworn Weiss here said your request was purely a business situation."

"Oh, it is, don't worry. She's just the stubborn type, and I was lucky enough to have an empty time slot in line with when she was supposed to come."

"Uh-huh, sure," he laughed, "you shouldn't be so nosey, gotta give the new ones room to grow."

"I typically do; it's not my fault this one has a habit of getting distracted, lost in thought, or running off on some sort of real estate emergency."

"I had to leave one session early when one of my tenants' pipe burst. I can't just leave them to flood my unit." 

"I'mma stop you both there; I don't need to hear the gritty details on all of that. I've had my fill. Why don't we go ahead and get to work, huh, Weiss? I'm sure you don't want to waste too much time."

"You would be right," she nodded, "Please lead the way."

With a calm nod to Blake, the pair traveled deeper into the gym, but just before they left earshot, Weiss asked, "So, how do you know Blake?"

"Oh," Sun chuckled, "we used to date; she made me realize I prefer men."

"I see… at least you've grown as a person."

She heard Sun's laughter even as they got too far from her for her to make out words. She settled back on the bench she'd started on; even with the crowd of exercising individuals, she could still keep track of the white-haired woman's progress.

She calmly crossed her legs, silently taking note of just how flexible Weiss was as Sun walked her through warmups. 

"Honestly," she silently chastised herself, "you shouldn't get so invested in a patient, even if she is an adorable brat."

She sighed, finding it harder and harder to tear her gaze from the working woman, eye lingering on her soft curves as she bent and twisted to match Sun's pace.

Blake found herself chewing on her nail as she watched, a bad habit she'd developed years ago, something she needed to break sooner rather than later, but it hadn't started to cause her too much issue yet, so she let it be, continuing to chew as the brat worked. 

She found it amusing that, despite her constant complaints and protests, she continued to work with Sun. The pair caught one another's gaze more than once during the hour they were there, a pink hue always taking the shorter woman's cheeks whenever she realized Blake was still watching.

Just before her time was up, Blake pushed herself to her feet and left an extra sway and bounce in her step. She expected that even though they were only therapist and patient now, in due time, their relationship would lean more into their time off the clock. If their coffee sessions were anything to go off of, it wouldn't take very long at all.

With a smirk on her lips, she turned the corner to head back to her car, excited about the proposition that the new brat brought into her life.

  
  
  



	2. Friends and Family Discount

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss has been having stress-induced migraines in recent weeks and after a suggestion from Blake finds herself coming to some rather startling revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello there, this one ended up different than my planning suggested... and so will the next and... Well suffice to say I've finally started getting into better writing habits so hopefully, I'll put these out a bit more consistently. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for giving this chapter a chance! Oh... and uh... this story is rated M now... we all knew it was coming but I doubted anyone realized... Not so much PWP, considering even the initial P actually comes with important story snippits... Enjoy!

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, drumming her fingers against the table as she waited for Blake to arrive. She knew her therapist would be late, but the throbbing headache that had plagued her since this morning certainly wasn’t making her wait very enjoyable.

She heard the quiet clinking of china before the taller woman came into view. Blake calmly sat her cup onto the table across from her before sitting down. “For someone known colloquially as ‘The Ice Queen’, I’m surprised to find that you hide inside during a snowstorm.”

“Though I may prefer the cold to the summer heat, even I have my limits. I don’t want to be buried under an inch of snow waiting for you,” Weiss huffed back.

“Well, it could have worked as an ice pack for your headache,” she countered, taking a sip of her tea.

“I know, I know, I’m an open book and easy to read. If you’re so wise about headaches, why don’t you-”

“Stress,” Blake cut in simply.

“-er, what?”

“Stress-induced migraines. They’re a common side effect of a lifestyle like yours. If you want my suggestion, you need a good way to relieve stress.”

“Oh? Clearly, you just have all the answers.”

A pencil-thin smirk was all she initially got in response, but it was still enough to send a chill up her spine.

* * *

Weiss blinked, trying to figure out how she’d ended up where she was now: Sitting in a parking lot of what had been described to her as an “adult toy store” as she contemplated if she should even go inside at all. It was ludicrous; why should she have to? Why did she blindly follow every directive? It honestly dumbfounded her, but she couldn’t stop herself, either. She groaned, looking through her windshield once again. “Who in their right mind names a store ‘Hatter and Hare’s Emporium’?” She grumbled, finally cutting the engine of her car and moving to get out. She took a moment to look up at the over-designed sign. The words were spread across the top in bright neon with a tophat and pair of long rabbit ears on either corner with a bow tie and a lock in the middle directly below the center. 

She quietly pushed her way into the building, cheeks flushing almost instantly. She barely glanced around, locking her eyes on the woman in the far corner evidently organizing merchandise of some unspeakable kind. Just imagining what she could be handling made her heart race. She moved closer, stealing glances at the countless toys and bottles lining the shelves.

Clearing her throat she managed to get the blonde’s attention, “E-excuse me. I was told to come and collect a- erm… toy for personal use.”

“Hmm?” The blonde asked, turning to face Weiss. 

Weiss struggled to move her eyes from the blonde’s prodigious chest. “My therapist-er.... She sent me to buy a toy for personal use. She suggested I use it as a stress-relieving tool.”

“Oh… kay, what were you looking for?” The taller woman asked, eyeing the prudishly dressed ice queen. “I’m guessing you’re probably here for something pretty vanilla?” She stepped past Weiss, guiding her towards one of the sets of shelves. 

“Vanilla?” Weisscocked her head to the side. “Wait, are they flavored? Why would they be flavored?”

She then heard the blonde choke and her cheeks instantly lit up. She must have said something stupid.

“Well, I mean… lube is flavored, so you’re not... technically wrong… but no, toys aren’t typically flavored.” The blonde laughed, likely at Weiss’s expense. She continued on, picking up a few of the display items off the shelf, “We have a nice selection of simpler toys, some that can apply to different fetishes. Ones that are shaped like tentacles, a couple’a horse toys, and some weirder options if you’re into them. like, we have this one,” She held out a longer, tapered toy that swung as she turned back to Weiss. “We sell it with a little mold for you to make little gelatin eggs in and-”

Her voice continued on, explaining the toy in detail before moving on to the next. She went from the toy she referred to as an “ovipositor” to what looked like a cartoon tentacle, but Weiss had lost focus. She stared bewildered at a toy on a different shelf. She’d gone from far too anxious and embarrassed to absolutely, positively, unable to comprehend what she was looking at.

Out of everything, everything someone could possibly use, someone had decided to make a toy shaped like a cactus of all things.

She stopped listening to the blonde, turned on her heels, and simply walked out the door.

By the time she settled in her car, the engine running, and her heart rate under control, Weiss calmly picked up her phone and dialed Blake’s number.

Before she’d even gotten a word out, Blake asked, “so, how long did you manage to stay in the store? I highly doubt you managed to actually buy anything.”

“That was the most embarrassing experience I have ever been a part of. Why in the world did you make me go there?”

“Other than the fact you’re still consistently complaining about stress-related issues?”

Weiss grumbled quietly under her breath as she pulled out of the parking lot. “What happened to not going into therapist mode outside of sessions?”

“Just because I’m not in therapy mode doesn't mean I don’t have therapy memories,” Blake countered back. Weiss could almost hear the smirk in her voice. “Now, you still clearly need some sort of consistent stress relief. I could demand you start a morning routine of yoga and tea, but I have a feeling you’d fight back against me cutting into any more of your time.”

“I’m sure I can find ways to relax on my own.”

“Then prove it.By our next session, you need to be able to honestly claim at least three times that you did something with the express purpose of relaxing. Am I understood?”

Weiss rolled her eyes; her therapist was starting to sound like a mother should. “Fine, but only because it’s supposedly going to help with my headaches.”

She could hear the smirk in Blake’s voice as the woman calmly responded, “If that’s how you want to look at it. I look forward to hearing about what crosses your mind while you… relax.”

Weiss opened her mouth to respond but the line went dead.

There was a moment of silence before she loudly declared, “did she just hang up on me?!”

She angrily ranted to herself about the audacity and the disrespect and-

Her ranting was cut short by her phone ringing. She hadn’t even realized how long she’d been driving for, nor at first where she was even going. Luckily for her, she managed to make her way most of the way home despite her lack of attention.    
  
She blindly slapped at the screen in her dashboard to answer the call, her sister’s voice coming through her speakers soon after, “Hello?”

“Hello, sister, is this an issue of mother or an issue of business?”

“Whitley can’t get in touch with mother... again.”

“Of course he can’t,” She sighed, hitting her blinker and quickly turning around. “I’ll go check on her since it seems that’s all I ever do.”

“Thank you, sister. I’m sorry I keep having to call you about this, but the last time I checked on her-”

“I know, I know, she tried to stab you with a broken bottle. We don’t need to rehash that story every time you feel guilty. It’s not YOUR fault she’s a complete and total drunkard.” She hated that story. Every time it came up it made her blood boil.

“I know. I need to go, I deploy in the morning.”

“Of course, good luck in-” She let her voice trail off so Winter could fill in the blank for her.

“Puerto Rico this time,” Winter happily explained. “It’s the perfect time of year for it.”

“Whatever you say. Take care.”

“You too, sister.”

Their call ended as Weiss finally turned back around, once again drumming her fingers against her steering wheel. 

“Every time, woman… every time,” she sighed.

* * *

It had been almost a full week since Weiss had last had to tend to her mother’s affairs and, in that time, in Winter’s absence, Blake had pushed her to go back to the Hatter and Hare--a task she’d repeatedly avoided--her car’s check engine light had come on, and her usual mechanic had evidently left the state. So now, as she walked into the Sunny Dragon Gym she was hoping to get a chance to relax.

She’d even gone through all of the trouble of getting an outfit more conducive to the type of exercise she regularly did, even going so far as to take the time to braid her long ponytail to keep it a bit more in check. As soon as she entered, she knew she was in for a very interesting day.

Typically, as was customary from her consistent visits, Sun would be waiting for her near the entrance. Instead, his business partner stood at the far end of the room, calmly talking to someone Weiss only assumed was another prospective member of the gym. A shorter woman, dark hair with red tips, an oversized hoodie and, for some reason, combat boots. Beyond her questionable fashion choices, she seemed excited about something as she turned and waved, jogging off past Weiss and out the door. 

Weiss watched her leave before turning back towards Sun’s business partner, who happily waved her over. She closed the gap, looking up at the woman as she held out a hand, “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

The laugh that followed her declaration unnerved Weiss, but the Blonde took her hand nonetheless, “Well, Weiss... it’s nice to finally look you in the eye.” 

The shorter woman swallowed, a sinking feeling in her stomach.“You are Yang Xiao-Long, right?”

“Oh, I am, but this isn’t the first time we’ve talked,” She laughed. “Though, you didn’t really look up from your shoes much that whole time.”

Weiss felt her cheeks begin to burn. What were the chances Sun’s business partner would work part-time at a sex shop? No, that wasn’t the right question to ask. Why would Blake knowingly send her to the sex shop that her personal trainer’s partner worked at? It had to all be an elaborate scheme to embarrass her; it had to be.

“Don’t worry about it, though, nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. You’re here to work out, and I’m here to help.”

Yang’s reassuring tone pulled Weiss from her thoughts; she’d talk to Blake about it later but, for now, it shouldn’t matter much. “Of course! Thanks for being willing to cover for Sun.”

“Don’t worry about it, happens all the time. Now let’s get to work before we waste too much time, eh?” She chuckled, motioning for Weiss to follow back into the gym proper.

The majority of her workout wasn’t much different than normal, though Yang was far more hands-on with fixing her posture and form.

About halfway through, however, they took a moment to get some water, and Yang, likely just trying to make conversation, asked, “So, are you always this tense, or is it just because the first time we talked was at Hatter and Hare’s?”

“Oh, I’m typically fairly stressed, though lately a lot more has been added to my plate than usual.”

Yang sat her water bottle down, “oh yeah? Like what?”

“Well, my car is evidently due for maintenance and I found out today that my usual mechanic moved a month ago.”

“A whole month ago? Doesn’t seem like you’re that great at keeping in touch with people,” Yang teased.

“I have a lot on my hands,” Weiss huffed. “I run my own business and I have several locations that I have to make sure are well kept, multiple of which are older buildings so I don’t often have much free time.”

“You should get some employees,” She laughed, “here, after we’re done I can get you my sister’s number, she can look your car over.”

“Wait, your sister is a mechanic?”

Yang nodded, her pride on full display. “Yeah, neither of us exactly fit the old feminine mold, but growing up with a single dad’ll do that to you. I was out back chopping wood and Ruby was with dad fixing the radiator.”

“She can fix radiators? I might have contract work for her in that regard,” Weiss laughed.

She smiled softly as their conversation continued, relieved that one of her current worries had been alleviated so quickly.The rest of their time together was much more relaxed, the pair chatting and talking through her exercise with little worry. 

On her way out she got Ruby’s phone number, going so far as to call her on her way home and set up an appointment. 

* * *

Weiss slowed to a crawl as she pulled into the rundown parking lot of the address she’d been given. The simple “Red’s Car Repair” sign hung in stark contrast to the old building it was attached to. 

She pulled into a parking spot before carefully climbing out of her car and moving towards the building.

A small bell chimed as she stepped inside, a voice calling from the back that she’d be right there. That gave Weiss a bit of time to look around, glancing over newspaper clippings, photos of different people, many she assumed to be well-known mechanics, while others had Yang and the dark-haired woman from the other day. “That must be Ruby…” she mused as she gently ran a finger along the picture frame. 

She quickly pulled her hand away as the same voice from before spoke up again, “You must be Weiss, right? You’re the lady that came to see Yang at the gym the other day.”

“I- yes, that was me,” She nodded, turning to look at her. “Do you own this shop?”

“Oh, no, no, I’m just one of the two people that runs it,” Ruby nodded; she’d shirked the hoodie from before for a pair of dirty overalls and the same pair of combat boots. “So, you said your car had its check engine light on?”

  
“It did, it started a few days ago but she’s been running fine.”   
  
“It’s probably just a sensor going bad, then. Those are normally pretty easy fixes. Here, I’ll guide you into the bay and I can walk you through the process.”   
  
Weiss nodded and walked out with Ruby. It was a bit of a messy process with the cramped and crumbling parking lot but they managed to get Weiss’s car into the bay. Ruby continued to walk her through how she was checking the car’s computer, listing off the parts she’d need to replace. Ruby took the time to list off the exact parts she’d need before telling Weiss to go wait up front.

As Weiss settled back down in the waiting room, she watched the mechanic scurry over to an auto parts store next door, likely to collect parts she didn’t already have on hand. 

She decided to take out her phone while she waited, opting to read through and reply to a few work emails. She quickly lost herself in her efforts. She typed feverishly on her phone while she waited, only to be inevitably pulled from her work as she had plenty of times before.

“Ms. Schnee? Your car’s done,” Ruby called out, bringing Weiss’s attention from her phone quickly and leaving her to wince at the crook in her neck. She silently chastised herself as she stood after all she knew better than to let her posture get so poor as to hurt her neck or back.

They spoke for a few moments as Ruby explained all she’d done.

“I even changed your oil and got you a new filter, so she should be running right as rain for a while now.”

“Thank you, you certainly went above and beyond, but are you sure this is how much I owe you?” Weiss asked, looking back to her. “It seems low…”

“Oh, yeah, well, you’re friends with Yang so I don’t mind giving you a discount.”

“Do you get many customers that aren’t friends with your sister?” She asked as she swiped her card to pay.

“No, not really, but it’s not like it’s that big a deal. I’ve got plenty of clients and it’s not like mechanic work is cheap. Either way, your payment’s good, you can take your keys and head out. Have a great day and I hope to see you again soon,” Ruby flashed a broad smile, giving Weiss a wave.

There was a moment of hesitation before Weiss cleared her throat and asked, “Ruby, do you have business cards?”

This caught the younger woman off guard, “oh, uh… no, not really. We mostly get people informed by word of mouth.”

“I see. I’ll come back by in a month; have business cards ready so I can take some. I’ve got plenty of tenants that could use a kind-hearted and quick-handed mechanic like you.”

Ruby blinked, unable to respond before Weiss walked out. Weiss made a note in her phone to come back a month later, as she’d promised.

As she settled into her car she glanced back at her phone, frowning softly. “Have I really run out of emails to respond to? Strange… I suppose I have the rest of the afternoon off.”   
  
She scrolled through her contacts for a moment, before chuckling softly, “I suppose I should take Blake’s advice…”

* * *

Weiss let out a heavy sigh as she pushed into her home. She’d spent a good 20 minutes sitting in the parking lot of Hatter and Hare’s, trying to work up the nerve to go inside again and try to buy something. Evidently, her anxiety found that concept absolutely unfathomable. 

She set her bag down on the counter in the kitchen of her open floor plan living and dining area as she got herself a glass of water. “I thought I’d worked past those fears… clearly his standards still hold sway over me, despite how long it’s been since he was arrested,” She murmured to herself as she leaned against the counter. 

A simple failure like this was more than enough to weigh on her mind. She was almost singlehandedly running an ever-growing real estate business with easily two dozen different locations and yet simply walking into a particular store and working up the nerve to buy something was too much? She just couldn’t understand it and it frustrated her more than anything. 

She huffed loudly before turning to make herself dinner. She didn’t cook often before but, after several months of Blake’s constant chastising over how often she ate take out, she’d gotten back into the habit of having food on hand to cook with... should she have the time. Her pocketbook certainly liked the extra heft it left behind, as well. 

She let her mind wander as she made her way through a recipe she’d gotten fairly familiar with, something she could put together quickly after a long day at work. What she hadn’t expected was just where her mind would wander to. 

Typically, her unfettered mind would go back to work. It would tally emails she had to write, totals she had to pay, so on, but today, today it decided it wanted to go somewhere much less professional.

At first, it was just a flicker, an image half baked in her mind’s eye, one of the many toys she’d glanced across at Hatter and Hare’s. 

Weiss snapped back to her cooking quickly, shaking her head some. It wasn’t common for her to think about such things-- always too busy with work-- but, tonight, the moment her mind began to wander again, she was acutely aware of what those images did to her.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the polished stainless steel of her fridge door and she paused. She couldn’t even remember when she’d unbuttoned her blouse, her cheeks were burning brighter than the heating coils on her stovetop, and was she breathing through her mouth? She felt out of breath, but all she’d done was cook dinner.

She shook her head, slipping out of her blouse and moving to hang it on the back of a chair before moving back to plating her food. Even as she settled at her dining table to eat, the nagging still remained in the back of her mind.

With her dinner finished, the plate in the dishwasher, and her blouse neatly tucked away in her closet, Weiss moved back to her bedroom. She stripped slowly, a shiver running up her spine, but whether it was from the chill of her room or the excitement, she couldn’t tell.

She settled herself on the edge of her bed before letting out a shuddering sigh as she gently rubbed her thighs together and leaned back into her plush comforter. One hand gently slid down her stomach, tentatively probing at her folds as the other gently scratched at her collar. Finally relenting to her mind’s wandering.

Weiss wasn’t sure where it would go but, as soon as she let it, her grasp of time quickly faded. She imagined unseen hands tracing her skin, hot breath against her neck, someone dragging their nails across her skin. Her motions quickly became feverish as her fantasies became more solid. Dark hair, pale skin, slow methodical movements. Her free hand gently tightened around her throat as she grew closer and closer to her peak.

Stars began to fill her vision, her back arching against the soft bedding as she inched towards the edge of her climax before suddenly sharp, amber eyes snapped into her fantasy’s gaze and a familiar--though much more sultry than typical--voice seemed to purr into her ear. The shock of this realization sent her over the edge as she cried out in pleasure into her empty home.

Her chest heaved as she struggled to recover. She slowly peeled her hand from her throat, wincing softly at the lingering soreness that stayed behind. “What... was... that?” She mumbled quietly, taking breaths between each word, as she slowly crawled out of bed.

She quietly padded to her bathroom, gently rubbing at her neck. “Did I really just do that? And why was it... her, of all people?” She quietly asked herself, as confused as she could possibly be, as she turned the water on for her shower. “I can’t wrap my head around it… but it certainly explains the chills down my spine when I see her watching me…”

She stepped into her shower, relaxing against the warm water for a moment before she saw those piercing amber eyes in her mind again. She couldn’t help but shudder before quickly cursing herself.

“You can’t lust after your therapist, you pervert.”

She let her eyes drift closed again as she leaned against the cool tiles that lined her shower, her mind quickly returning to those pale hands gripping and moving her. She couldn’t help but bite her lip before muttering, “not like anyone has to know…”

* * *

  
  


Blake leaned back in her desk chair, narrowing her eyes at the door to her office. She gently chewed on her thumbnail as she mulled over her latest therapy session with her white-haired brat.

Weiss was certainly in better spirits, feeling better physically, at least compared to their coffee date earlier that week, but she seemed very nervous. She was certainly a lot stiffer than usual and, when Blake brought up the evident discomfort, she tried to brush it off.

“Did she take my suggestion?” She mused quietly. “And, if she did, what did she fantasize about, if that’s what spooked her so much?”

Blake pushed herself to her feet and began to slowly pace her office. She didn’t have another patient for a few hours so, for the moment, she had time to mull over her findings. She continued to pace for a while, incessantly chewing on her nail as she did. She couldn’t help but let her mind linger on the memory of Weiss. 

With every step, she recalled the details of how she sat. The slight shifting in her posture, the subtle way she rubbed her thighs together, the tugging at her clothes, and the slight rosy tint to her cheeks. She smirked softly, “Has she started crushing? Is that what happened?”

She sat back down at her desk, pulling out a notebook and jotting down a few important details. “She’s certainly come to a conclusion she doesn’t like... The only question is what. Speaking of… when I asked her honestly to tell me how much she’d done to relax, she got much more uncomfortable.”

Her smirk widened, becoming almost wicked, as she came to a sudden realization. “The brat is finally starting to learn, isn’t she? This will certainly be interesting to watch come to fruition.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we are again. I hope you enjoyed and I hope this one'll be updated soon. I'm considering opening up a Patreon sometime in the future, it would definitely help incentivize more consistency with my output but I highly doubt anyone would really care at this point. I'll keep it in mind for later. Hopefully, I'll see you all soon! The next chapter is going to be... interesting.


	3. Lies and Leashes

Anxious fingers impatiently drummed continuously against Weiss’s forearm as she paced, panicked, heels clicking loudly as that incessant and, thankfully, endless beeping echoed around the hospital room she’d been in for at least the past hour. She came to a stop, turning a sharp 90 degrees to look at the motionless form in the bed in front of her. She’d been the one to find her mother like this, unconscious, in a puddle of her own vomit and as cold as death. Just thinking about it made her anxiety snake its way around her throat. 

If Weiss hadn’t relented and gone to check on her mother, her mother would have died, and the worst part was that she almost had. So many times she’d found the woman asleep with her phone dead or destroyed, so many times she’d had to pick up and baby the woman, so many times she’d gotten upset or angry at her... so many times they’d gotten lucky. That was the part that stood out. After so many times where her mother had simply gotten too drunk to respond but had effectively been fine, she’d almost lost her.

“I could have left you there…” Weiss whimpered, looking over her mother. “I almost did. I was so tired I almost ignored Winter’s request…”

Her mother didn’t respond. How could she? She wouldn’t even wake up for quite some time. Even after the doctor’s pumped her stomach, set up IVs, and intubated her, she was still unconscious. 

Weiss reached up to rub her face, sighing heavily as she slapped her cheeks. She hadn’t slept the night before and the exhaustion was starting to set in. She’d spent most of the night in the ER waiting room and they’d only just been given a room in the ICU for the remainder of her recovery.

Now, she just needed to wait for Whitley. He messaged her not long ago to tell her he was on his way. She’d thought about calling him the night before, but she didn’t want him to see the state their mother was in.

She wished Winter was able to come, but her elder sister had been deployed days ago and wouldn’t be back until the end of the week. 

She turned again, moving to slump into the armchair settled in the corner by the bed. She hid her face in her hands as she let out a long, low groan. She was far too tired to even begin to unpack this massive pile of poorly compartmentalized and extremely invasive emotions. 

She raised her head a moment later, looking up to meet the gaze of her younger brother Whitley. He was clearly upset, a mix of anger and worry swirling in his gaze as he looked down at her.

“Why did you wait to call me?” He asked.

Weiss looked down before slowly moving to stand. “Because I didn’t want your last memory of mother to be of her, laying there, unresponsive and jaundiced… I was… trying to protect you like I always should have.”

The silence between them weighed heavily on both of their shoulders, only broken by that, thankfully, steady beeping. 

“Sister, I don’t need you to protect me anymore… I need you to trust I can help. Go home, get some rest, I’ll call you if her condition changes, okay?” The smile on his lips was thin, somewhat forced, but it was kind. It made a sliver of Weiss’s worry fade, at least for the moment. 

She gave a nod. “Okay, I’ll try not to sleep too heavily.”

There was a moment of hesitation before she stepped closer and pulled her younger brother into a hug. “We both need to learn how to rely on each other more… we’ll only have Mother around for so long to keep us together.”

“I know, now go rest, you look like death.”

“I feel like it,” She said with a chuckle. 

They finished their pleasantries before Whitley got settled and Weiss could go on her way. 

She could feel the slight sway to her step that often accompanied her after a long stretch of sleepless nights or all-nighters like this. She had half a mind to nap in her car but she knew that, if Blake found out, she would never hear the end of her complaints about proper sleeping etiquette. Honestly, that woman could find even the most mundane things to complain about, be it how she treated her hair, how she wore her makeup... it’s like she would purposefully find anything and everything to critique about Weiss and critique it. 

Weiss sighed as she settled into her car, checking the time before quietly groaning and pulling her phone from her bag. The battery was luckily charged-- a benefit of her anxious mind never letting her leave home without a cord--so she didn’t hesitate to pull up Sun’s contact and call him.

“Mornin’, Weiss. You’re certainly calling early. Hope everything’s alright,” He spoke happily, ignorant of the lack of sleep his client had endured.

“Things could certainly be better,” She mumbled. “I’m calling to let you know that I won’t be making it to my usual 10 am appointment. I’ll hopefully be coming back and getting back into our rhythm on Thursday.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully, Blake won’t give you too much trouble for canceling one day.”

Weiss winced softly at the thought. “I’m sure she’ll understand when given the full context. I’ll see you Thursday, take care.”

“You, too. Have a nice day, Weiss,” Sun said just before Weiss ended the call.

She took a few moments to connect her phone to her car’s Bluetooth so she could listen to music on her drive home before slowly pulling out of her parking spot and off onto the road.

She made a few mental notes as she drove. First and foremost, once she woke up, she’d need to call and check on her mother. After that, she’d need to make sure nothing had come up with any of her properties and, after that, she had a few options. She could try for an emergency session with Blake, but part of her felt she should stew on what had happened.

Weiss sighed softly, cutting off her music and focusing on driving. She could feel the exhaustion pulling at the back of her mind and, most of all, she just wanted to rest. She’d worked long hours before, skipping sleep and meals for work, but this time was different. There was an emotional aspect to it now. 

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she pulled into her driveway and made her way inside. She warmed up some leftovers, ate quickly, and almost instantly turned to collapse in bed, still fully clothed.

* * *

Weiss awoke several hours later to her phone’s ringtone screeching at her from the nightstand. Groggily, she pushed herself to a sitting position before grabbing and answering the call without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” She asked, wiping at her eye as sleep practically dripped from her voice.

“Hello, Weiss,” Blake’s voice came through, “I just got off the phone with Sun and I wanted to check in on you. You don’t typically call out of things I’ve requested you do.”

She blinked, her shoulders tensing almost instantly at her therapist’s voice. Blake sounded concerned but Weiss couldn’t help but fear the inevitable disappointment in her voice. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She started, not awake enough to fully piece together the full story right away.

“And just what were you doing that kept you up so late.” The disappointment was already clear in Blake’s voice.

“I was at the hospital,” Weiss spoke simply and slowly as her mind got into gear.

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Blake asked, her tone suddenly softer, “Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you? Do you need anything?”

Weiss was caught off guard at first, having been used to her therapist’s usual aloof demeanor. Having her show genuine worry quickly snapped the white-haired woman from her half-asleep state. “Oh, no, no, I wasn’t the one that- my mother- I… sorry, let me restart.” She struggled for a moment, trying to compose herself before managing to get out a coherent sentence. “My mother had alcohol poisoning; she was in the ER for most of the night and was moved over to the ICU early this morning.”

“I see… I should have known it was your mother and not you… I’m glad you’re okay. Do get more rest; I’m sorry for waking you. If you’d like, we can meet for a cup of coffee or a drink later this evening. I’m sure you need some help relaxing after spending the night in a hospital.”

Weiss paused a moment before looking at the time. She’d gotten enough sleep to run a few errands, she was sure, and she needed to not ruin her sleep schedule any more than it already had been. “Actually, Blake, I would like that.”

“In that case, I can get us a reservation at Pink Lotus for seven, if you’d like. I feel like their atmosphere would be more your speed.”

“A reservation? The Pink Lotus?” To say this caught Weiss off guard would be an understatement. The Pink Lotus wasn’t cheap, to begin with, and rarely would same-day reservations work. “Isn’t that a little much?”

“I feel like it’s the atmosphere that would best help you after the stressful evening you had. Besides, they recently got a new selection of wines, and I was hoping to try them.”

That made more sense, Weiss thought. It must just be an excuse to go, and it kills two birds with one stone. “Well, I suppose a glass of wine would be nice. It would certainly help me relax some. I’ll see you at seven, then. Though, I have to ask, how are you able to get a reservation at such short notice?”

“I have my methods, Ms. Schnee. I’ll see you at seven.” And then, without any flair or hesitation, Blake ended the call.

Weiss huffed, moving to stand. “I have a few hours before then… I should check in with Whitley and Mother. I’m sure she’s not awake yet but it’s better than nothing.”

The call between her and her brother was short and sweet: her mother’s condition was improving, but the tests had come back. Her liver was failing. Evidently, she had Cirrhosis of the Liver and the doctors were giving her maybe two years… and that was if she started taking better care of herself. 

This revelation weighed heavily on Weiss’s shoulders when the call ended. They had maybe two years with their mother now. How could they possibly make that time count? Of course, she’d considered her mother’s death in the past, but she’d never thought it would be so soon. 

She was sluggish as she got dressed and ready to leave, barely noticing the notification that appeared on her phone screen as she turned to set out.

“Right...” Weiss mumbled, “I told Ruby to get herself business cards… I should start by checking in with her. It may help me get my mind off of things.”

She grabbed her keys, quickly moving out of her home and off down the road.

* * *

As she pulled into the still run-down looking parking lot, her mind hadn’t stopped racing, her chest still felt tight. Shaking her head, she rubs her eyes before stepping out of the car and stepping inside. The chime over the door felt more welcoming this time, the place familiar to her as she felt her gaze pulled to the wall of memories. 

She glanced across all of them, the blonde man, Yang, and Ruby were all consistent throughout. In the center of it all was an older, more weathered photo. Weiss must have glanced over it the last time she was there, but it was a woman that bore a striking resemblance to Ruby. She scanned the other pictures but she didn’t appear in any of them.

Weiss couldn’t help but let herself stare at this woman for a moment, leaving her open to Ruby’s quiet approach.

“That’s my mom. She and my dad opened this garage before I was born.” There was a somber hint to her voice as she spoke. “She passed when I was little, so I don’t really have much to remember her by.”

Weiss blinked, turning to the other woman. “You lost your mother? I almost forgot Yang said you only had your father.”

“Well, we had uncle Qrow, too, but that doesn’t exactly leave us with much room to be girly.”

The pair stood quietly for a moment before Weiss asked, “If you had the chance, what would you have wanted her to see?”

“If I had the chance to show my mom something? I mean… other than the fact that I’m keeping her shop open?”

“Yes, something… something more personal, I guess is what I mean.”

“Oh, well,” Ruby murmured, looking down for a moment, “I mean… I would have liked it if she made it to my graduation… maybe my wedding, if I ever get married. Y’know, those big things that only ever really happen the one time.” Ruby turned. “Not the normal kind of conversation I get around here. Any particular reason you asked?”

“My mother’s in the hospital so… I have a lot on my mind. Sorry to bring you into my problems; it’s not why I came. I wanted to check back in with you for a few of your business cards.”

Ruby winced at her comment but quickly bounced back at the mention of business cards. “Right! Here, I had a bunch of them printed. I was honestly surprised at how cheap they were.”   
  
Ruby scurried around the counter, revealing a handful of simple red and black business cards depicting a rose-like pattern and a wrench behind the basic information for contacting the shop. 

“Expertly made, simple, sweet, and memorable… why the rose though?”

“Oh, my mom and dad weren’t married when I was born so I got my mom’s last name.”

“I see, well, Ms. Rose, I’ll be sure to spread these around. You do good work and you should get the benefits of that.” 

“First of all, my name tag says Ruby, don’t go getting all formal with me. Secondly, thank you, good luck with your mom, I hope she gets better soon.”

“I hope she does, too.” Weiss said with a soft sigh as she left Ruby to her work. 

She had just settled into her car when her phone rang again. Whitley’s contact came up on the screen.

She quickly answered, asking a swift “Hello?”

“She’s awake,” Whitley whispered. “She’s not fully coherent, but she’s awake.”

Weiss’s eyes went wide, her mouth drying some. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

* * *

Weiss drummed her fingers against her arm as she waited outside the Pink Lotus, early as always. Today was for an entirely different reason. Her anxiety was at an all-time high and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it.

She’d gotten dressed up to some degree. Hair pulled into a bun, a plain light blue dress, a pair of flats. No makeup since she worried about sudden bouts of tears and anxious sweats. 

She’d almost chewed a hole in her lip when Blake arrived, ripping Weiss from her anxious machinations by clearing her throat. 

“You don’t strike me as the type to be nervous about a casual dinner,” Blake teased, motioning for Weiss to follow her inside. 

She barely even managed to look Blake in the eye as they moved into the well-furnished and meticulously decorated oriental restaurant. She did take note of the long, black dress the taller woman wore, the several inch tall heels, the high slit that stopped midway her thigh. When comparing herself to what she saw, Weiss felt underdressed... which certainly wasn’t common for her.

“You’re losing focus again,” Blake teased, glancing back at Weiss as they were led to their table. “You need to focus on the moment, or your worries and fears will drown you in the future.”

“I think my fears and worries are going to drown me in the present…” Weiss muttered back.

Blake let Weiss sit first, pushing in her seat before moving to settle across from her. “Now, I’m sure you need to vent about today so, just this once, I won’t complain about having to go into Therapist mode off the clock.” 

The quiet chuckle Blake let out helped to ease at least a few of Weiss’s worries, but fear’s icy fingers didn’t loosen from around her heart and lungs. 

“Well, Blake, I… I mentioned before that my mother is in the hospital.” She paused a moment before getting an affirmative from Blake and pressing on with her speech. “She… did come to, earlier today… and I spoke with her for a bit.”

“I see,” Blake mused. “How did that go? I hope your talk was productive.”

“It was… productive at first but… I might have let myself get a bit carried away in my sleep-deprived and anxious state…”

Blake raised an eyebrow, leaning in a bit closer before quietly asking, “Weiss, what did you do?”

Weiss winced slightly, reaching to fiddle with her hair a bit. “I-I had a conversation with Yang’s sister earlier today and a few of the things she said s-stuck with me. So, when I sat down to talk with my mother I might have not thought everything I claimed… through… very well…”

Blake had chastised Weiss for even simple little white lies, and this was far from a little lie.

A smirk tugged at the edge of Blake’s lip. “And just what kind of hole did you dig yourself into, Ms. Schnee? Did you promise something you can’t guarantee you can provide? Something you know you can’t provide?”

“I… I might have claimed I have a significant other…” Weiss murmured, dropping her gaze. She couldn’t handle those piercing amber eyes anymore; it felt as if they bore straight into her soul with every passing moment.

“Weiss Schnee, how many times have I said that lying does nothing more than to exacerbate your anxieties and stress?” Blake began, disappointment dripping from her voice. “Now you’re-” 

Weiss’s anxieties hit their boiling point. She couldn’t stand the idea of lying to Blake for any reason, even lying through omission. She barely even thought before blurting out, “I said it was you.”

Blake sat back, looking down her nose at Weiss, who still sat shaking slightly as she waited for Blake’s response. There was a quiet moment before the taller woman sighed. She hated lying, Weiss knew she hated lying so when Blake started talking, she was surprised. “I suppose you’d rather not have to come out as a liar to your mother right away… but understand, for as long as this lie continues, I will have you collared, leashed, and on display. Clearly, you need a more hands-on approach if this is anything to go off of and, since we now have to feign a relationship, it would be inappropriate to continue acting as therapist and patient… instead, I’ll move things around and our usual Friday session will be replaced by a Friday evening date.” 

As she finished talking, Blake calmly picked up her glass of water to take a long sip before asking, “Does that seem fair for pulling me into a lie of this scale?”

Weiss blinked; everything the taller woman had thrown at her rolling and bouncing around her head. Collared and leashed felt like a strange way to express her intentions but, considering Weiss had gone behind Blake’s back and pulled them both into such a lie, she likely intended it as a warning that she intended to keep a closer eye on her. “That… that’s fine… why the dates, though?”

Blake smirked. “It’s easier to sell if we don’t have to lie about everything. By going on actual dates we can pull stories from them. Do you want to get caught in a few weeks’ time or do you want to have a chance for this to outlast her skepticism?”

Weiss paused before nodding. “You have a point. Thank you for being understanding. I didn’t go into my talk with my mother intending to get you pulled into anything.”

Blake chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t you worry; it’s perfectly fine. Just know I meant what I said.”

“Of course, of course.” Weiss nodded, finally relaxing some. The rest of their dinner was still rather awkward but, at least, Weiss felt like she had some control back over her life.

* * *

Weiss impatiently tapped her foot as she waited just outside the hospital waiting room. Despite the chill that still hung in the air, it was supposed to be spring. She let out a sigh, watching the small cloud of steam escape her lips with a frown. 

She’d been in and out of her mother’s hospital room all week after Blake had decided, somewhat against the shorter woman’s will, that, instead of their usual therapy session this week, she would introduce her supposed significant other to her mother. Weiss had gone to the trouble of going home for a short while and tidying herself up before Blake was supposed to arrive. 

Her makeup was light but specific, covering the scar over her eye from an old fencing accident. She almost let herself drift into those memories as she got waited, but a sharp wind cut past her sending a chill down her spine.

“Maybe I should wait for her inside,” Weiss muttered. “At least then I wouldn’t be freezing my tail off-”

“So, you have a tail now? I knew you were a good pup.” A familiar, teasing voice spoke up, carried through the air as if aimed directly at the white-haired woman’s heart. 

Weiss turned to look Blake in the eye, getting caught off guard by how she looked. Certainly, her formal wear had been a sight to behold, but something about seeing Blake dressed casually, a thick jacket, tall boots, and a beanie bearing a printed cat face and ears with her hair tumbling down her back, it all just caught the businesswoman completely off guard as a soft pink quickly took to her cheeks.

“Oh dear,” Blake chided. “It seems I’ve left you speechless.” A soft smirk stretched across her features, an expression Weiss was all too familiar with now. As she came to a stop, she held out a small bag to Weiss. “Here you are. Just as promised, it’s a bit brighter than my preference, but I don’t think any other color would suit you.”

Weiss blinked, looking at the bag for a moment before asking, “What exactly is it? I don’t remember you promising me anything.” Blake’s laugh that ensued made her wince. Had she said something naive again? Blake was always chiding her for being too naive. Knowing she wouldn’t get a straight answer, she simply took the bag and opened it.

At first, she was just confused as she pulled out what looked like a dog’s collar. It was white with silver accents and with a tag that had what looked like a belladonna flower etched into it. She looked up at Blake, a question on the tip of her tongue before the pieces fell into place and her eyes went wide. It wasn’t a dog’s collar... it was for her.

“Now, this isn’t a formal collaring ceremony. We can worry about that if this ever goes too far… however, so long as we’re together, I expect you to wear that. I have a reputation to keep and-”

“I can’t wear this! It’s degrading!” Weiss cut in, wincing at the sudden disappointed look that pulled at the taller woman’s features.

“As I was saying, Weiss, I have a reputation to keep, and having a sub without a collar isn’t something I can have people seeing. You were the one that asked me to do this; that collar comes with it.” There was a short pause before a slight smirk came to the dark-haired woman’s face. “Unless you’d rather admit to your mother you lied?”

Weiss felt her mouth go dry as she looked down at the white leather and silver. She couldn’t bear the look on her mother’s face if she found out; she barely made it through almost losing her. “Th-There has to be some sort of compromise…”

Blake nodded. “Fine… why is it that you don’t want to wear the collar? Is it the public… or is it your family? You’ve said before you have concerns about how your family sees you…”

“It’s my family, I don’t… I don’t want them to see that sort of thing… they’d ask questions I wouldn’t be able to answer.”

“That’s a fair complaint… I was going to request you wear the collar only in my presence but, if you’d rather not wear it around your family, we can change that rule.”

“Change that rule?” Weiss asked, “Change that rule to what, exactly?”

“Instead of having to wear it around me, you have to wear it when you’re not around your family, even if I’m not around. Is that fair? Of course, if it isn’t, we could always just tell your mother the truth…”

Weiss swallowed looking back at the collar before nodding and moving to put it into her purse. “I’ll put it on as we leave… since we have our first dinner date tonight.”

Blake smirked, offering a hand to Weiss. “Alright, Ms. Schnee. Let’s go show your mother a happy, albeit not fully honest, couple.” Weiss took her hand before being quickly pulled close to Blake, an arm calmly wrapped around her waist as she was pressed into Blake’s side. “Alright, then,” Blake cooed. “Point the way.”

Weiss’s face burned as she felt Blake’s grasp around her. It felt so possessive; as if she’d been taken like a dog from the pound. It made her feel strangely safe, like the future itself couldn’t hurt her. 

* * *

Blake watched as three teacups were carefully set on the table between herself and her close friend Coco Adel, the hatter of Hatter and Hare’s Emporium. The hare in question was the one setting out the tea for them, a pretty little brown-haired submissive named Velvet. 

“Thank you, lovely,” Coco cooed. “Now, put the kettle away and come join us. We were just getting to the interesting part.” She turned her attention back to Blake. “So, tell me more about your new pup. It’s certainly not the weirdest way I’ve heard of for a master to find a pet.”

Blake laughed, calmly taking a sip of her tea. “Oh, no, not the strangest at all, but certainly one of the most amusing, especially with how typically evasive she is when it comes to matters of the heart. She still dances around how exactly she got herself into this mess, but I’m not exactly upset by it.”

Coco cocked an eyebrow. “I thought you hated when people lied.”

“Oh, I do, and this is quite frustrating… however, it’s given me such an easy string to tug on when she steps out of line…”

“That’s cruel, even for you,” Coco laughed as Velvet sat down beside her, leaning against her shoulder. “Guilt-tripping is such a low blow for a new sub. Are you sure it won’t mess her up?”

“I don’t intend to use it often, just to nudge her back down the path she needs to tread.” 

“You really can’t turn off therapist mode, can you?”

“No, I genuinely can’t,” She said simply. “It comes with the territory, though. I joined my profession to help people and that’s what I intend to do. If I get a new puppy out of it, then that’s just a bonus.”

“You still haven’t told us much about her. Why are you so enamored?” Velvet finally spoke up which prompted Coco to run her fingers through her hair.

“She’s a smart woman with a rough childhood, but she’s bratty and naive. She’s such a joy to tease as well and, when she gets hyper fixated on her work, she furrows her brow and starts to chew on her lip. I’m not sure why but I can’t help but find it absolutely adorable.”

The room was quiet for a moment before Velvet whispered to Coco, “I think she might be in love…”

“Oh, hush, you. Now’s not the time for speculation, she’ll figure it out in due time,” Coco chuckled back. 

Blake rolled her eyes at their hushed conversation. The thought that she could easily hear them either ignored or never came to mind for the pair across from her. Either way, their conversation did raise a simple question into Blake’s mind:

Where did her feelings for this woman stop?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you enjoyed it! This chapter was a doozy to write and I've already started on the next and it's a lot of fun as well. The plot starts here, and things are hopefully going to be a bit tighter timeline-wise. If you did enjoy, please consider supporting me at patreon.com/weaponmojo it would mean the world to me. You can get everything from early readings, access to works in progress, and even prompt fills submitted and filled at the beginning of every month.


	4. Research and Character Developement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's finally back! After some rough events in my real life, I'm finally back into writing.
> 
> In other words, this chapter's a touch shorter than normal but it's mostly just a bridge for important events to come and it does wonders for character perspectives and development!

Weiss drummed her fingers against her desk, having once again lost focus on the task at hand. She sighed, reaching up to play with the small pendant hanging from the collar she wore. It had already become a habit to play with the silver medallion to the point that, when she was around her family and didn’t need to wear the collar, she would instinctively reach up to play with it.

She cursed her nervous habits, but there wasn’t much she could do about them other than tell herself to stop. She wasn’t even sure why wearing the almost demeaning article felt strangely reassuring. 

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to the computer screen, trying to focus on the task at hand as an inkling feeling started to nag at the back of her mind. Blake had mentioned a “collaring ceremony” and, now that the question of what that was had reared its ugly head, Weiss couldn’t focus on her work at all.

She quickly brought up another tab, typing the words into her search bar as she chewed her lip. She scrolled a bit before finding a link that read: “BDSM 101: Collaring and Collaring Ceremonies”, quickly clicking the link to read through. 

Blake had said it wasn’t a formal ceremony, but there was one thing that stood clear to Weiss: she had no idea what she’d gotten herself into just a few weeks earlier. From what she gathered at the first link, Blake had claimed her by presenting this collar. Whatever that meant, Weiss wasn’t exactly sure, but her curiosity wasn’t going to let her stop there.

She ended up on a Wikipedia article focused on all aspects of BDSM, and she quickly grew to regret not looking into this with an incognito tab. The images in the article alone would get her a series of strange looks, if not an overly long and awkward conversation. Though she tried not to look too intently, she couldn’t pull herself away from the detailed article.

She didn’t expect to dig through each subsection that the page linked to and each subsection after that, but she did. Some of them caught her attention more than others. Still, she didn’t think too deeply about it right away, albeit mostly out of embarrassment. 

Weiss came out of the research she’d done with more questions than answers, but as she pondered it all, playing with the pendant again, she caught a glance at the time. “Oh, shit,” She cursed. “I’m going to be late!”

She quickly got dressed before hurrying out to her car. Checking her phone for where they were meeting, she pulled out of her driveway and headed down the road.

This week, they’d luckily decided on a less formal setting, and, as had become tradition, Blake stood out front of the small, family-run restaurant. She was dressed down this time: The same puffy jacket and cat-eared beanie from their meeting at the hospital just two weeks earlier. She seemed to be mindlessly reading something on her phone as Weiss approached.

Blake’s phone quickly disappeared as she turned her full attention to the collared woman that approached. “I’m disappointed; you’re late today,” a slight frown growing as she spoke.

“I went down a rabbit hole earlier and lost track of time,” Weiss replied, her tone a touch sharper than she intended.

Blake didn’t fail to notice, her expression shifting to one of curiosity as she asked, “And just what sort of rabbit hole did you go down? It must have been a rather riveting one for you to be as late as you are.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment before Weiss raised her head, pale blue eyes locking with the taller woman’s amber gaze. “You’re a dominant, right?”

Surprise, and then amusement, twisted Blake’s features before she let out a soft chuckle. “Of course, I am. I didn’t think you’d be looking into those kinds of activities. Still, I don’t understand your hostile tone.”

Weiss stepped closer; she could feel her cheeks burn now, knowing that Blake knew exactly what she’d been reading up on. She didn’t let her embarrassment stop her, yet, however, as she spoke again. “So, you know what collaring me implies.”

“I do… do you?” Blake replied, her smirk never fading despite the accusatory tone Weiss held. It made a shiver run down Weiss’s spine. How could she be so calm despite Weiss’s aggression?

“It’s the equivalent of a wedding band,” Weiss hissed. “You’re essentially telling that world that I’m your wife-” Her voice faltered as Blake began to laugh. “What’s so funny? This is serious.”

“You’ve made quite a few assumptions… but that does open up quite an interesting conversation that I would much rather we have over dinner.” She turned, opening the door. “Or... would you rather we start delving into each other’s preferred bedroom activities on the sidewalk?”

Weiss felt her cheeks absolutely burn now; that hadn’t even occurred to her as a possibility for where this conversation could go, which, in hindsight, was rather foolish. She tucked her head down, quickly stepping past the taller woman and into the warm restaurant interior. They were seated with menus in hand before Weiss could even raise her head to look at Blake.

“Now… What exactly have you learned? If you’ve done so much research, please, enlighten me on your new knowledge.” Blake glanced over the menu at the shorter woman. “Don’t delay, now. I’m sure you’re chomping at the bit to get this off your chest.”

Weiss huffed at Blake’s tone, setting her menu down as she started talking. “Collars mean a lot in the BDSM culture. To anyone else that knows what’s going on, you’ve essentially told them I’m something I don’t even fully comprehend the role of. You’re essentially telling them that we’re engaged, if not fully married, by their cultural definition.”

Blake nodded in time with Weiss’s accusations, her calm demeanor doing little more than infuriating Weiss all the while. As soon as Weiss finished talking, Blake asked, “And… where did you get that? You claim to have done the research, but from the sounds of things, you’ve done little more than throw BDSM and Collar into a Google search and read an article from the first page…”

Weiss blinked, her cheeks quickly heating up once again as Blake just smirked. “Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I? In that case... Mind if I explain what a collar typically means and what those of us that like to present in public use them for?” A simple nod from the white-haired woman was all Blake needed to continue. “While, yes, a proper collaring ceremony is equivalent to a marriage, it’s a type of ceremony. Submissives of all kinds will wear collars in and out of scenes, even submissives without a dominant to claim them. “

Blake turned her menu around, feigning interest in it for a moment before pressing on. “I, in the correct circles, am known as a fairly demanding dominant. Ask Sun if you want a full rundown of just how demanding I can be in and outside of a scene. A consistency between you and every other sub I’ve had is the collar. I want my submissives, at least in my presence, to wear a collar bearing my emblem.” She motioned with her hand to tap at her collar bone, referring to the pendant that hung from the collar around Weiss’s neck. “It’s become something others in the community can look at and know, without a doubt, that we are together in some regard, be it romantic or purely based in the dynamic.”

Now, Blake set down her menu, leaning a bit closer. “I do not know with whom your family may converse and talk with. There is no reason to believe they don’t have some connection to others in my community. If they saw us together without you wearing a collar, they would quite quickly come to the conclusion that we weren’t actually together… if my name is brought up to any of the people I know in the community concerning a significant other, and they have seen us together without you wearing a collar, then…” She let her voice trail off, motioning to the smaller woman across from her.

“The lie would be exposed because they would contradict the story…” Weiss mumbled, shoulders slumping some. She’d made an assumption and, once again, made herself look foolish in front of this woman. “I apologize for jumping to conclusions.”

“Oh, no,” Blake cooed, waving her hand dismissively. She picked up her menu again before continuing, “You needn’t apologize. I knew you’d look into it eventually, and I had a feeling your conclusions would be a bit off the mark. However, I am curious. What did you think of all that you read today?”

Weiss blinked, glancing to the side before asking, “W-What do you mean?”

Blake smirked once again, “I know you, Weiss; you don’t just read the surface. As soon as you started to learn, you dug deeper. What did you read about, and what did you think of it?”

Weiss went quiet for a moment, glancing down at her menu. She hadn’t even really read it at this point. She couldn’t get her mind to focus on the words in front of her. 

“Well?” Blake pressed, her smirk growing ever sharper. “Come to think of it… Why were you so worried about what people in the BDSM community thought of you? You didn’t strike me as the type to care about what a bunch of strangers thought of you… Or, is it only that community that you’re concerned about?”

Weiss could feel her cheeks grow hotter, her shoulders stiffening. She knew better than to let Blake go on like this; it always spelled disaster for her. The more Blake spoke, the less she could piece together a coherent and un-incriminating response. 

“I feel like you may have learned something about yourself with all of that research you did…”

“N-No, I didn’t. I just-”

“Just…? Found a few things that seemed interesting?” Blake’s chuckle seemed a hint darker this time.

“I think I might be a submissive, okay?” Weiss quickly shot out, letting out a shuttering breath.

Blake was quiet for a moment, leaving the pair in silence before calmly asking, “Would you like to go find out for sure?”

Weiss blinked, looking up to meet Blake’s gaze. “I don’t think-”

“The owners of Hatter and Hare’s do demonstrations every other Friday. We could go and watch to see how you react. If you enjoy it, well, it’ll be easy to figure out which role you fit better, though I’m fairly sure we can already tell.”

Weiss’s cheeks burned again, “And just what’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re a brat, from the tip of your ears to your toenails, you’re a brat. Which, luckily for you, is just my type, so no one will question us being together.”

Weiss thought for a moment. She’d read about a lot of aspects of BDSM, but that hadn’t been a term she’d come across. “I… I don’t know what that means.”

Blake nodded. “That’s fair. I don’t think the Wikipedia page has information on all of the different types of submissives, just broad overviews of the types of dynamics. Declaring you a brat means you resist just enough to make play more enjoyable. Don’t worry, we can discuss everything about it after the demonstration.”

Their waitress came by, asking for drink orders before walking off to give them more time to look over their menus.

“But, what exactly happens at these demonstrations?” Weiss asked, still trying to read the menu and failing.

“They are completely clothed, as clothed as you can call what Coco makes Velvet wear…” Blake began, gently tapping her chin. “And it varies, of course, but Coco has been going through a lot of beginner Shibari recently… I can’t guarantee what you’ll see, but I will say, I feel you’ll enjoy it.”

Weiss nodded, mulling it over. She wasn’t entirely sure why but thinking about it all left her heart racing. Excited wasn’t quite the right word to describe it, but it was a start for her. She was beyond excited to watch this demonstration.

She was mulling it over still when the waitress came back. As she was ripped from her thoughts, she caught the end of Blake’s order and quickly began to try and stutter out her own. Blake calmly raised her hand and said, “Don’t worry, I took the liberty of ordering for you since you seemed to have a lot to think about.”

Weiss stuttered again before looking down and whispering her thanks. 

The pair sat in silence for a while, the rest of the night surprisingly uneventful. However, as Weiss and Blake stepped outside to go their separate ways, the taller woman glanced around a moment before turning to Weiss. She hooked her finger through the ring in the collar and pulled her close. The motion was gentle as she had no intent to hurt Weiss. The only reason she’d done it was to judge the shorter woman’s reaction. 

With the gap between herself and Blake drastically reduced, and by the collar no less, Weiss felt her breath leave her, her cheeks flaring with warmth. She felt weak in the knees looking up at Blake now, while Blake simply smirked, let go of the collar, and took a step back. “Have a good evening, Weiss. I’ll see you Wednesday.”

Weiss just waved dumbly as she walked away, her heart beating out of her chest. She wasn’t sure exactly what was coming, but she couldn’t help but become impatient in the week-long wait between her and the Hatter and Hare demonstration.

Before she knew it, Wednesday had arrived. 

They’d already spent much of the morning digging through piles of discarded bottles of alcohol and emptying the fridge full of almost nothing but rotten take-out and beer. Several times throughout the day, Weiss had to be pulled from her thoughts by Winter or Whitley. Blake, who’d taken the day off to help as a way of showing she and Weiss actually spent time together, let her daydream.

“Weiss,” Winter huffed. “Have you cleaned anything in the past fifteen minutes?”

Weiss blinked, looking down at the trash bag in her hands and shaking her head. “I’m sorry, I’m… still caught up on the whole thing…” She lied, and the look Blake shot her told her she was doing a poor job of it, too. 

Winter and Whitley both looked at her skeptically before Blake chimed in. “In her defense, she isn’t exactly the best with change. I know this from experience.” Weiss couldn’t help but blush softly at Blake’s tone. The underlying meaning likely referred to what they had planned for that Friday or, maybe, the collar still stashed in her purse. 

Winter let out a sigh. “You aren’t exactly wrong. Weiss never was good with change. Remember when I deployed for the first time?”

Pale blue eyes quickly began to widen as the shorter Schnee sister stuttered out, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” In her flustered state, she hadn’t noticed Blake prowl around the room and slip into her peripheral vision. She jumped slightly when Blake’s arm coiled around her waist, which of course, elicited a quiet chuckle from the taller woman.

“You don’t know what I’m talking about? So, you didn’t call me almost every day?” Winter asked, crossing her arms and shifting her weight off to one side. “You weren’t almost constantly ensuring I hadn’t somehow perished in battle as a member of the reserves?”

Weiss could feel Blake pull her a touch closer as the submissives’ emotions started to fray, which, oddly enough, helped her keep her cool. Was this typical? Was it second-hand calm granted to her by Blake’s grasp? She wasn’t really sure, but she was certainly grateful for it.

“It was more an excuse to talk with you,” Weiss huffed. “After all, you left us with Father near his worst, so some distraction was always a desire.”

This got Whitley to nod. “Father did get worse after you left for the reserves the first time. Military service was probably the worst option we could choose to avoid his ire.”

“Military service is a fine profession,” Blake cooed. “Just bear in mind; your mind isn’t impervious to further trauma.”

“I’m well aware,” Winter nodded. “I see why Weiss likes you, cool-headed and knowledgeable.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think Weiss wanted to date her older sister,” Blake teased. “Maybe Freud had a point with his Oedipus Complex… Weiss has told me she saw you as a mother figure for quite some time…”

The room fell quiet for a moment before Blake chuckled, letting everyone know she was joking. Weiss’s siblings quickly joined in the soft laughter, while Weiss went from pink to red.

“Now, we’re all a bit distracted, and there’s still a lot of cleaning to do. Why don’t we order some food for delivery and get back to work?”

“Yes, please,” Weiss huffed quickly, peeling away from Blake’s grasp as she responded to the dark-haired woman’s suggestion. Though Weiss didn’t notice as she pushed herself to pick up more discarded glass bottles, Winter and Blake shared a look before they started discussing what to order for dinner.

The group decided on where to order from fairly quickly, Weiss and Blake essentially giving the decision to the others to make the process flow more easily. They continued to clean as they waited. The once trashed apartment slowly became livable again as garbage bags piled against the door. 

“Winter, could you show Whitley how to use the steam cleaner? I want to go ahead and get started on taking some of this trash away,” Weiss called out as she began to pull bags from the pile.

“Of course,” Winter called back, calmly moving to walk the youngest sibling through how the machine worked. 

Hushed words reached the middle Schnee’s ear as Blake leaned in close over her shoulder. “Would you like a hand with the trash, pet?” The teasing tone alone had become enough to elicit a small reaction from the woman, one she could only hide from those that weren’t aware of what to look for. 

“I wouldn’t mind; it would make it take fewer trips.” Weiss could hear the taller woman chuckle as she pulled away.

As the pair made their way to the dumpster shared by the apartment complex, Blake asked, “So, what exactly have you been thinking about? It’s very uncharacteristic of you. Typically you’re much better at keeping your focus on the task at hand.”

Weiss felt the heat quickly rise back to her cheeks. “I keep contemplating our next… uh… date night.” She didn’t raise her gaze, but she could tell Blake had that signature smirk of hers. 

“Is that so? And what exactly were you thinking would happen? What are your hopes for the display?” 

Weiss swallowed, biting her lip softly. “Is this a conversation we need to have in public?”

“I would like to; it’s not like anyone is going to be listening either way.”

Weiss let out a heavy sigh. “Fine, I suppose I can admit to a few… um… ideas for what could happen on Friday.” Blake let out a quiet hum in response, waiting for the white-haired submissive to continue. 

Weiss sighed before she started talking. “Well, to begin, I’m hoping to see a bit of bondage. I know it’s probably the most likely thing to see but what I glanced at during my initial research was very… attention-grabbing.”

Blake nodded. “Bondage is typical, quite a bit of shibari in recent displays.”

“Shibari, that’s the rope art. I’ve found it… an interesting option to look into further. I also had a reaction to, well… the power dynamics I saw were all... fascinating. I would like to see how I react to a dominant being aggressive, calm, degrading, so on.”

This got a laugh from Blake, “Oh? So you think you may like being treated poorly? That’s certainly interesting…” Her smirk only grew with Weiss’s fresh blush. 

“I might,” She reiterated. “But I don’t know yet.”

“Okay, pup, what other things are you hoping to see this Friday?” Blake pushed, curious to just how much she could make Weiss divulge.

“Well,” The white-haired woman responded, “I started to piece together the true meaning behind the name of the store, so I would assume there might be a bit of… pet play, I think it was called. The hatter being the dominant, and the hare being her submissive. Though, I’m not entirely sure what to expect from there…”

“Don’t worry about what you expect; tell me what you hope to see.”

Weiss bit her lip softly. “Well, the idea of seeing the submissive hung from ropes comes to mind. I’m not sure why I like that idea as much as I do, but it’s an image I haven’t been able to separate myself from since I started researching. Gags and blindfolds are also equally as confusingly enticing. I’ve never liked being unable to speak or see, but in the context, it’s… alluring.” 

Blake chuckled dryly again. “I see. I’m sure there’s some psychological reasoning behind it…”

“I feel like you’re well aware that there probably is,” Weiss huffed in response. “You know your teasing can get frustrating.”

“I’m well aware, and the pink of your cheeks is well worth the effort.”

Weiss huffed again, crossing her arms as they made their way back to the apartment to eat. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, at least it was for the Schnee family.

* * *

Blake gently chewed on her thumbnail, silently kicking herself for the nervous habit. She let her hand fall back to the table as Coco and Velvet entered.

“You know, coming to talk with us the day before a display is always going to take a while,” Coco joked, nudging her still red-faced girlfriend. “Why’re you here today, of all days, anyway? Don’t you have work to attend to?”

“Oh no, don’t worry, too much.” Blake waved a hand dismissively. “I have a few requests I would like to levy about for your performance tomorrow.”

This caught Velvet by surprise, leaving the brown-haired woman to glance between the two dominant women now staring each other down. 

“So you’ll finally be cashing in that favor we owe you?” Coco asked, uncrossing and crossing her legs.

“If that’s what it takes to get what I want, then yes. If I remember correctly, your display this week was supposed to be heavily focused on leather bondage and different tools to use on little rabbits.”

“I’m assuming your new brat showed interest in other things?” Coco asked, moving to sit down across from Blake. “Just how much of my show am I going to have to replan?”

“Hopefully,” Blake started, leaning back in her seat. “You’ll be able to reskin it. Impact play and toys are things she’s expressed interest in. Still, she’s also more interested in rope play than leather… and showing her that rope is more than capable of leaving her helpless and hanging.”

Velvet swallowed softly as she sat beside Coco. “So, she’s interested in Bondage, impact play...anything else?”

Blake smirked. “Well, there is something I’d like to use this as a chance to introduce her to, if you’re willing.”

Coco and Velvet shared a look - and Velvet gave a nod - before Coco turned back to Blake. “This is 100% going to cost you your favor. Now, what else are you trying to have me use tomorrow?”

Blake’s smirk stretched into a smile as she leaned in close, the words quietly leaving her lips. She already knew Weiss would enjoy the show, but this would give Blake more knowledge on the fresh-faced submissive as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how many people have started to pick up on my foreshadowing from Blake's sections? If it's not many some things I have planned may come as a great big surprise later.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm glad to be back into the swing of things. The next chapter should be coming in just two weeks and I'll hopefully be able to keep that schedule for the foreseeable future!
> 
> If you enjoy my writing and would like to support what I create, consider supporting me on Patreon at patreon.com/weaponmojo. Patreon supporters of all tiers get access to chapters before the general public and twice-monthly updates. Higher tiers can get access to WIPs, drafts, and even custom prompts filled by me.
> 
> Alright, with the shameless plug out of the way, I'll see all of you soon!


End file.
